Is the BBC About to Close BBC Three and BBC Scotland? & The Traitors Returns...

TV Insiders Peter Fincham and Jimmy Mulville discuss proposed cuts to BBC Three and BBC Scotland, the extraordinary success of The Traitors, Channel 4’s new programming structure and the possible impact on British comedy. They also remember Esther Rantzen and the unforgettable television moment involving Nicholas Winton.

In this episode:

Why The Traitors is still able to dominate television viewingRichard E. Grant, James Acaster and Amol Rajan’s early exitEarly exits of Robert Kilroy Silk, Noel Edmonds and Susannah Constantine from I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of HereWhy BBC Three’s online-only future is so complicatedThe debate over BBC acquisitions including Suits, Schitt’s Creek and Scooby-DooWhether the BBC should charge audiences overseasWhat longer iPlayer availability could mean for producers and programme rightsCould BBC iPlayer become a home for Channel 4 and other public-service content?Why the BBC should consider advertising around some of its archive programmingWhether YouTube should give UK public-service broadcasters greater prominenceThe BBC World Service and Britain’s soft powerBBC MediaTech cuts and staff’s emojis reaction to the announcementDavid Brindley’s appointment at Channel 4Why merging Channel 4’s comedy and drama teams could be bad news for comedyEsther Rantzen, That’s Life! and the television legacy of Nicholas Winton

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction

00:40 Why The Traitors is still a television phenomenon

06:40 BBC cuts and the future of BBC Three

11:00 Proposals to reform the BBC licence fee

22:40 BBC MediaTech cuts and the emoji backlash

24:40 Why merging comedy and drama could hurt Channel 4